Safety concerns

Russia's transport safety regulator has grounded its ageing fleet of Antonov-12 aircraft after a plane crash that killed 11 passengers in the country's subarctic far east region, the third such fatal accident in recent months.

The doomed An-12 disappeared from radars Tuesday after reporting that it was leaking oil and that one of its turboprop engines had caught fire. Russian rescuers found the debris of the plane on Wednesday.

"Search teams found no survivors," Russian aviation agency spokesman Sergei Izvolsky told the news agency AFP. "There is great damage to the plane. Its remains are strewn over a 2 kilometer (1.2 mile) radius."

Flight ban

The flight ban on the ageing aircraft will remain in effect until "carriers take priority measures to lower the risk of using An-12 type planes," according to Russian transportation authorities.

Although the exact cause of the crash remains unclear, the investigating committee is focusing on a possible "technical malfunction of the plane" and "pilot errors."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have condemned the state of the nation's infrastructure and regulatory corner-cutting as they gear up for presidential elections in 2012.

The plane crash follows a series of high-profile transportation accidents. In April 2010, Polish President Lech Kaczynski died when his Russian-built aircraft crashed, killing all 96 people on board. Just last month, a boat accident on the Volga River killed 122 people, which Putin blamed on irresponsibility and desire for a quick profit.

Author: Spencer Kimball (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler